Indian Judge at ICJ Votes Against Russia for Its Invasion of Ukraine

The World Court passed a judgment ordering Russia to immediately suspend military operations in Ukraine.

The World Court passed a judgment ordering Russia to "immediately suspend military operations that it commenced on 24 February 2022 on the territory of Ukraine."

Photo: The Quint

Dalveer Bhandari, an Indian judge at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), was one of the judges who voted against Russia in the court's hearing on Wednesday, 16 March, regarding the ongoing war in Ukraine.

The World Court passed a judgment ordering Russia to "immediately suspend military operations that it commenced on 24 February 2022 on the territory of Ukraine" in a majority decision of 13-2.

Justice Bhandari is currently serving his second term at the ICJ. His first tenure began in 2012 and lasted till 2018, as per a report by Hindustan Times.

He was nominated for a second term by the Indian government, and he defeated the British candidate, Justice Greenwood, for the post.

India's Official Position on the Russia-Ukraine Conflict

Justice Bhandari's stand on the Russia-Ukraine conflict is different from India's official stand on the matter.

ICJ judges are not representatives of their countries per se and therefore are not required to make decisions according to national policy. However, in practice, this can often happen – in Wednesday's order, judges from Russia and China voted against the provisional measures ordering Russia to suspend its military operation

India had abstained from voting on a resolution adopted by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on 2 March to deplore Russia's military actions against Ukraine.

The UN General Assembly had passed the resolution with an overwhelming majority, condemning Russia's invasion of Ukraine and demanding that the country immediately withdraw its forces from the region.

India had also abstained from voting on a Security Council resolution on 25 February to condemn the Russian invasion.

Explaining the abstention, India's Permanent Representative to the UN, TS Tirumurti, had said, "It is a matter of regret that the path of diplomacy was given up. We must return to it."

"India is deeply disturbed by the recent turn of developments in Ukraine. We urge that all efforts are made for the immediate cessation of violence and hostilities," he had said.

Modi-Putin Talks

Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi had spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin on the phone on 7 March, urging the safe evacuation of Indian students stuck in Sumy, Ukraine, amid the ongoing conflict.

The two leaders had also spoken on 2 March, during which PM Modi sought details about the situation in the city of Kharkiv, where many Indian students were stuck.

(With inputs from Hindustan Times.)